DigitalPay Expo, hosted by INTERMARC in Lagos, spotlighted groundbreaking strides in intra‑Africa payments and fintech innovation.
Industry leaders gathered to chart a roadmap toward seamless, real-time, cross-border transactions backed by robust identity systems and collaborative frameworks.
Nigeria leads in real-time payments
Nigeria stands out globally with its real-time payment infrastructure: transactions between banks post within seconds. As Musa Jimoh, Director of Payments System Policy at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said, this lightning-speed approval is rare worldwide—“you send money from one bank account to another, and it’s approved within the second.”
This capability serves as a foundational pillar in Nigeria’s digital finance ecosystem. The CBN is leveraging this by integrating APIs and open banking frameworks, digital wallets, and QR codes into a single, unified payments landscape.
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Musa Jimoh emphasised that while multiple payment channels increase consumer choice, they also create fragmentation, urging streamlined expansion of unified channels.
He reiterated CBN’s commitment to drive faster, cheaper, and more secure transactions to inspire public confidence—especially across borders. He pointed out that public-private partnerships are pivotal to scaling cross-border payment systems across Africa’s diverse financial landscape.
PAPSS: Towards a pan‑African payment gateway
A major highlight was the focus on PAPSS (Pan‑African Payment and Settlement System), launched in January 2022 by the African Union and Afreximbank.
This real-time gross settlement system enables instant intra-African payments in local currencies—removing reliance on correspondent banking and foreign currencies.
PAPSS processes payments 24/7, settles net positions daily, and ensures fast, secure remittances using ISO 20022 messaging.
CBN’s Musa Jimoh highlighted PAPSS as critical infrastructure for CBN’s vision of regional financial integration, providing a pathway toward a unified African payment ecosystem.
Identity as a payment linchpin
Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, Director-General of Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), stressed that cross-border payment friction often stems from lack of verifiable identities.
Nigeria boasts Africa’s largest identity database, which NIMC is leveraging to embed identity verification into payment solutions.
She urged embedding identity into payment design, adopting co-governance and co-ownership models, and investing decisively in cross-border infrastructure—particularly PAPSS implementation—to realise the full potential of intra-Africa commerce.
This year’s DigitalPay Expo underscored several core themes. Nigeria’s leadership in real-time payment infrastructure demonstrates a model for broader adoption across the continent.
Tools such as APIs, open banking systems, digital wallets, and QR codes are enabling broader financial inclusion. PAPSS emerged as a game-changer, providing the backbone for localised, real-time, cross-border payments in Africa.
At the same time, identity verification through NIMC’s vast database is helping to eliminate friction and build trust in digital transactions.
Crucially, the event emphasised the need for shared governance and deep collaboration between governments and the private sector in scaling infrastructure and policy that support seamless intra-African trade.
Looking ahead: Towards an integrated African payment ecosystem
DigitalPay Expo showcased Africa’s accelerating journey toward financial integration. Nigeria’s real-time infrastructure, bolstered by PAPSS and trusted identity systems, shows strong alignment with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agenda.
Success, however, hinges on coordination–harmonising regulatory frameworks across central banks, forging partnerships between public entities and private fintechs, and embedding identity from transaction design to settlement.
As it has already been made clear, Africa’s payment future will be built on speed, security, identity assurance, and collaborative innovation—a future where transactions across borders are instantaneous, affordable, and frictionless in local currencies.
DigitalPay Expo is INTERMARC’s flagship platform connecting fintech innovators, regulators, banks, and payment providers across Africa. Now in its 25th year, the 2025 edition built on momentum from past events like the 2022 “DeFi Africa” conference, reinforcing its role in shaping Africa’s digital payments landscape.
The Expo affirmed that Africa is moving from fragmented payment systems to an interconnected continental platform. The intersection of real-time capabilities, unified systems like PAPSS, and robust identity frameworks sets the stage for transformative intra-Africa trade. With public-private synergy and innovative infrastructure, the vision of a unified African payments ecosystem is increasingly within reach.